Men’s Basketball 10th in Preseason Poll

Oct 30, 2013

HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker College men's basketball team was voted No. 10 in the South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches' poll, the league office announced today. In addition, guard Julian Nelson was named to the preseason all-conference second team.

The Cobras went 13-14 last season and, in their final season in Conference Carolinas, went 10-10 in conference play and reached the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Coker will make its debut in the SAC this season.

Coker lost three players to graduation in Andrew Morris, Austin Harper and Marshall Cabbagestalk but the team has several experienced players returning for the 2013-14 season. Most notably, Nelson, a senior from Irmo, S.C., who led the Cobras in scoring at 17.2 points a game last season.

Also returning are senior starters Sharod Williams, Bryce Arnott and Eren Moses. Williams averaged 8.9 points and 7.2 rebounds a game and was also nominated for the "State Farm Dark Horse Dunker" competition. Arnott, a point guard, averaged 4.9 points and dished out 4.3 assists a game. Moses, a forward, averaged 6.3 points and pulled down 3.2 rebounds a game.

The Cobras kick off their 2013-2014 season Nov. 15 at the UNC Pembroke Tournament, where they take on Belmont Abbey. The first home game is Nov. 23 against SAC opponent Carson-Newman.

Defending conference champion Lincoln Memorial University took first place in the poll with 117 points and seven first-place votes. Carson-Newman University was second with 114 points and five first-place votes. The entire preseason poll is as follows:

Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South byU.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.